Sexual assault has been and continues to be the number one underreported crime in the United States. In fact, “only 344 out of 1,000 cases of sexual violence are reported to the police, which means that approximately two out of three cases go unreported” (Bureau of Justice Statistics). Many women victims of sexual violence do not feel the importance of reporting the crime due to the failure of the justice system. Evidence is not taken seriously, victims are blamed for the actions of their perpetrators, and sexism that trumps hard evidence is prevented in sexual assault cases. These reasons continually prevent women from taking the next step towards justice after being sexually assaulted. This is a huge problem as there are many movements pushing for education on the topic, all of which encourage victims of sexual assault to speak out. But why should a girl or woman talk openly about their assault if it is nearly impossible to have faith that the justice system will deliver justice for the crime? All of these problems are evident when looking at the recent case of Brock Turner, an offender who was released early, after serving only half of his six months, too lenient a sentence to begin with. People need to stop making assumptions about why so many cases go unreported and look at the obvious, the broken justice system. Women underreport cases of sexual violence due to the justice system's continued failure to take reports seriously, as highlighted by the Brock Turner case. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Victim blaming and “slut shaming” are two extremely common themes in sexual assault cases that contribute to the number of unreported sexual assault cases. Sexual violence is consistently attributed to alcohol consumption and promiscuity, to the idea that the victim was “just wondering.” Examples include drinking irresponsibly, the clothes a woman is wearing, or how a victim might put themselves in that situation. Sexual assault is defined as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient” (U.S. Department of Justice). It is important to underline the wording "without explicit consent". If a woman “asked for it” the act would not be classified as sexual assault and anything other than a verbal yes is not considered consent. In the Brock Turner case, Turner and his defense repeatedly attempted to blame the attack on alcohol, and the victim was asked several times about his drinking and partying habits during the trial. The victim responded by saying: “We were both drunk, the difference is I didn't take off your trousers and underwear, I didn't touch you inappropriately and I didn't run away” (The Guardian). In addition to blaming Jane Doe's social life, blame was also placed on Stanford's party culture. In fact, two months after the Brock Turner ruling, Stanford banned hard alcohol at parties on campus along with a limit on beer and wine (CNN). This policy change means that Stanford must agree that alcohol is to blame for Brock Turner's actions. Instead of blaming alcohol abuse and “party culture,” there should be more in-depth education about consent for students, and schools should actually hold offenders accountable for their conduct. In addition to blaming victims, the justice system often prioritizes men.